Daily Thunder Rumblings – 08 August 2017

Happy Tuesday. 70 more days until the NBA season starts. Here are the Rumblings….

David Aldridge of NBA.com ranks the teams in terms of what they’ve done in the offseason: “Compounding the rest of the league’s dilemma is that there was far less money in the system — about a third — than there was a year ago, when most everyone in the game lost its collective mind and threw money at any free agent with a pulse. Also, the league is about to tip over, it is so imbalanced at present, with a significant majority of the game’s elite talent in the Western Conference.”

A look at some of the highlights from the 2016-17 season and how it would look on 2K18: “This is five minutes of beauty for the NBA fan and basketball gamer and some of the most memorable plays of the campaign are captured. Russell Westbrook’s famous game-winner against the Nuggets, Stephen Curry’s halfcourt buzzer-beater to end the first half against the Los Angeles Clippers and Kyrie Irving’s beautiful game-winner against the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day are among the memorable plays included.”

A great look at Andre Roberson’s value to the Thunder: “Paying Roberson $10 million a year seems to be a bit much even for people who liked what the forward did last season. Heck, Roberson must have been shaken upon knowing he’s going to make 10 times more this season than he did in the 2016-17 campaign when the Thunder deposited $920,000 to his bank account. Roberson’s worth has been devalued by some due to his lack of offensive prowess. Last season, Roberson averaged just 6.6 points per game—a career high. He can’t shoot from beyond the arc to save his life, sinking just 0.4 treys per game on a pathetic 26 percent shooting.”

Lang Greene of BasketballInsiders.com says Billy Donovan is the best young coach in the game: “Entering the 2017-18 campaign, the Thunder’s roster will also look different from last season as the team acquired All-Star forward Paul George from the Indiana Pacers. There’s even more pressure for Oklahoma City to continue winning at a high level as Paul George, armed with a player option, will likely be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Westbrook also has a player option for the 2018-19 season and could also opt to test the waters of free agency next summer as well.”